You Had Me at Hello
by The Flying Red Panda
Summary: Five times Hoagie messed up, and the one time he got it right.


"_Was that some lame attempt to seduce me?" _

.

.

"…_ain't I seen you before? I think I remember those eyes eyes eyes…"_

Hoagie grinned as he stepped into the club, his eyes sweeping over the scene before him. He ran a hand through his reddish brown hair, his blue eyes sparkling as he debated which girl to approach first.

"…_so dance dance like it's the last last night of your life life…" _

Hoagie's eyes landed on a pretty, dark-skinned girl in blue jeans, a blue top, and a red hat. Her wavy black hair seemed to float through the air, as she swayed, smiling and singing along to the song.

Hoagie nodded to himself, then mentally began to review his best pick up lines, and the best way to approach the girl.

"…_dj got us fallin' in love again…" _

Hoagie watched as the girl coughed and rubbed her throat, obviously thirsty. As the girl left the crowded dance floor and headed towards the soda, Hoagie grinned, and followed her. After grabbing a soda of his own, he sauntered over to the girl, leaning casually against the wall. The girl glanced over at him, one eyebrow raised in a _I-really-hope-you-know-what-you're-doing _kind of way.

"Hey," said Hoagie slyly as he winked at the girl. "Do you believe in love at first sight or do I have to walk by again?"

"…_and tonight it's just me and you…" _

The slap was harder then he expected.

His face stung as he watched her walk away, her eyebrows narrowed in a way he couldn't help but find oh-so-adorable. With a pale hand he reached up, wincing as he brushed his fingers against the red mark on his face.

"Well." he sighed. "That didn't go as well as I'd hoped."

* * *

"_The ones that you love are usually the ones that hurt you the most."_

.

.

Homeroom, decided Hoagie, had to be the dumbest idea anyone had ever invented. He tapped his foot quietly as he listened to the teacher drone on about school rules, and please remember that shorts must be lower then the knees, and Miss Davies would you _please _put on a sweatshirt, that shirt is far too revealing.

Hoagie felt his eyes glaze over.

A knock on the door caused the students to sigh in relief, happy that the lecture had been interrupted.

The teacher rolled her eyes as she walked to the door.

"You're late." said the teacher sternly. Hoagie craned his neck, attempting to see the latecomer.

"Sorry." came the reply. "Won't happen again."

The teacher nodded and walked back to the front of the room, while Hoagie glanced at the newcomer.

He gasped with surprise, before allowing a lopsided grin to spread across his face. The girl from the club entered the room and headed to the only open desk – right next to Hoagie.

Once she was settled she looked sideways – and groaned when she saw Hoagie's eager face.

"Haven't I seen you before?" asked Hoagie lifting his eyebrows up and down as he talked. "Maybe in my dreams?"

"Maybe." said the girl, her fingers going _taptaptap _against the desk as she glanced anxiously from the clock to the door and back to Hoagie. "But it was most likely a nightmare."

Hoagie opened his mouth, but the bell cut him off. The girl picked up her books and sped out the door, not bothering to give him a backwards glance.

Hoagie just grinned. "I like 'em feisty."

* * *

"_Falling in love is so hard on the knees."_

.

.

Damn it, he was going to be late _again. _

Hoagie sped down the hallway, focusing on the path in front of him. If he was late to English class again, Ms. Johnson was going to have his head. Or some other vital organ. Or possible only a couple of fingers if he was lucky.

"Watch where you're going!" Hoagie glanced back at the very annoyed senior he had just run into and gulped.

"Sorry." he said quickly before turning back around, only to promptly run into someone much lighter and prettier then the aforementioned senior.

Hoagie yelped in pain as he landed on his back, his books and homework flying everywhere. Beside him, he could hear a low groan escape the lips of…

"Ow." sighed _the_ girl as she slowly picked herself up. "Abby's gonna feel that one in the morning."

"_Abby."_ whispered Hoagie quietly to himself. _"Hoagie and Abby." _

It had a nice ring to it.

"Watch where you're goin' will ya?" said Abby, her arms crossed around her books as she tapped her foot on the floor.

Hoagie felt a smirk slip onto his face.

"Sorry Abby." he said, relishing the way her name rolled off his tongue. "I was blinded by your beauty, so I'm gonna need your number for insurance reasons."

The surrounding crowd laughed as Abby stormed away, leaving behind yet another red mark on Hoagie's face. He shrugged as he rubbed his cheek.

The slap was worth it.

* * *

"_When I saw you I fell in love. And you smiled because you knew."_

.

.

It's two months later before Hoagie got a chance to talk to Abby again. He'd decided that she must've been a spy in a past life or something, because she seemed to have a knack for avoiding him.

However, when he walked into his physics classroom the first day of second quarter he noticed a couple of important things. One, there was a substitute, and that always meant either a movie or a large amount of pointless worksheets (he was hoping for the former), two, there was a brand new seating chart, and three, Abby was assigned to the seat directly behind him.

His smile stretched across his face as he plopped down into his seat, turning sideways so he could grin at Abby.

"Fancy seeing you again Abby."

Abby looked up from her book in surprise, before rolling her eyes.

"Hi Hoagie." she sighed.

"You know my name?" asked Hoagie, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Abby figured if you're gonna use your lame pick up lines every time she sees you, she might as well know your name." shrugged Abby, a grin beginning to form at the corner of her mouth. "Then Abby can ask people how to best avoid you."

Hoagie could tell from her grin that she was only joking, so he smiled back.

"Good luck with that." said Hoagie. "I can be pretty persistent."

"Enjoying your conversation Mr. Gilligan?"

The sub stood before Hoagie and Abby, one eyebrow raised in annoyance.

"I am, thank you." said Hoagie cheekily, causing several people to laugh.

"Perhaps you'd like to share the details with the class?" continued the sub as she sent glares at the students who had laughed.

"No thanks." said Hoagie politely. "I'd rather not."

Hoagie could see the substitute grind her teeth as she attempted to stay calm, but he didn't really care, because out of the corner of his eye he could see Abby giggling, obviously amused.

"Please refrain from further conversation." said the substitute crossly before marching briskly to the front of the room.

"I have here," said the sub as she snatched up a large pile of papers. "a packet, which is to be completed and turned in by the end of the hour. You are allowed to work with a partner, but only whispering is allowed. Do I make myself clear?"

Hearing no objections, she proceeded to pass out the packets.

Hoagie grabbed his quickly and answered the first question within seconds. Mumbles and groans from the surrounding seats alerted Hoagie to the fact that several of his classmates weren't finding the packet as easy as he was.

"Hoagie?" asked Abby hesitantly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Can you help me with this problem?"

Five minutes later their desks were pulled next to each other as Abby and Hoagie helped each other work through the packet.

"Abby's impressed." said Abby as she flipped over a page. "You haven't used a pick up line yet."

"Give it time." said Hoagie with a wink. "I'll come up with one before the end of the hour."

Abby shook her head and laughed. Distracted, Hoagie pressed his pencil too hard onto the paper, causing the lead to snap.

"Shoot." grumbled Hoagie. Abby glanced over, her eyes resting on his pencil.

"Here." said Abby as she passed over a pencil sharpener. Hoagie grinned in thanks.

"Y'know Abby," said Hoagie, a mischievous smile starting to spread. "Life without you is a lot like this broken pencil…pointless."

Abby just sighed and shook her head, unable to hide a small smile.

"You're terrible, y'know that?"

* * *

"_It's not hitting… it's patting with a passion."_

.

.

"But whyyyyy?" moaned Hoagie dramatically as he followed Abby into a very _pink _store.

"Because Abby's gotta get a present for Kuki." said Abby absentmindedly as she examined a blue and pink rainbow monkey before shaking her head and replacing it on the shelf. "And so do you, so Abby figured we could do it together."

Hoagie shrugged, happy to spend time with Abby regardless where it was, even if it was platonic.

"What about Wally?" asked Hoagie curiously as he picked up a bottle of perfume. He sniffed it, coughed, and quickly replaced it. "Why isn't he here?"

Abby rolled her eyes. "'Cause he's had his Christmas present for Kuki picked out since August."

Hoagie chuckled.

After much deliberation, Abby finally decided to buy Kuki a very sparkly, pink notebook and some glittery gel pens, then helped Hoagie choose a pair of sparkly green earrings for the petite oriental.

"So what now?" asked Abby as they strolled slowly through the mall, taking in the numerous Christmas decorations, a plastic cup of cocoa in each of their hands.

Hoagie thought for a bit, scanning the mall. His eyes landed on a Santa, and a sly grin spread across his face.

"Can I take a picture of you so I can show Santa what I want for Christmas?" asked Hoagie innocently.

"If Abby's hand's weren't full she'd slap you." said Abby sternly, unable to keep a blush from spreading across her face. She hoped he hadn't noticed.

He didn't.

* * *

"_You're a loser…but you're my loser." _

.

.

"You're a cruddy coward mate."

Hoagie glared at Wally from his spot on the couch, the TV blaring in the background.

"You're one to talk." grumbled Hoagie. "Asked Kuki out lately?"

"Shut up." said Wally as he sipped his soda. "And hand over the remote will ya? I hate this cruddy channel."

Hoagie tossed the remote to Wally.

"Seriously, though, what am I supposed to do?"

"How the hell would I know?" said Wally "I'm useless when it comes to girls."

"No kidding." muttered Hoagie.

"Look," said Wally, his eyes trained on the television. "Just ask Abby out already. The worst thing that'll happen is she'll say no."

"That's pretty bad." groaned Hoagie "And what if I ruin our friendship?"

"You're worrying too much." said Wally "Just get it over with."

"Get what over with?"

Hoagie yelped and spilled his soda all down his front. He turned his gaze upward only to see Abby and Kuki standing at the top of the stairs. Abby had an eyebrow raised and Kuki was trying to contain her giggling.

"A-Abby." stammered Hoagie, frantically trying to mop up his shirt. "K-Kuki…um… how long have you two…um…been standing there?"

"Couple seconds." shrugged Abby.

"Oh." said Hoagie relaxing just a little bit.

"Kuki," said Abby, sending the girl a meaningful look. "Why don't you and Wally go get the snacks we brought? Y'know, the ones in the trunk of Abby's car?"

"Sure Abby." chirped Kuki happily. "C'mon Wally."

She grabbed the lanky Australian and dragged him out of the basement. Hoagie gulped.

"So…" said Abby as casually as she could manage "What were you and Wally talkin' about?"

"Um…n-nothing important." stammered Hoagie. "J-Just…um… football. Guy stuff."

"Really?" asked Abby, one eyebrow raised. "_Just _guy stuff?"

"Um…" stuttered Hoagie. A half grin started to appear on Abby's face. "You were listening weren't you?"

Abby nodded. Hoagie groaned and slumped into his seat.

"Do you have to rub it in?" mumbled Hoagie "It's not like you'd say yes if I asked you out."

"You never know if you don't try." said Abby, the grin still on her face even as she twisted her hands in her lap.

Hoagie didn't look up. "Sure Abby. That always works." he grumbled. "Watch. Abby Lincoln will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes." said Abby.

"See?" groaned Hoagie "I told you s- what?"

"Yes." said Abby again.

"Really?" said Hoagie his eyes wide, a smile starting to form.

Abby grinned. "All ya had to do was ask."

* * *

_**Codename KND © Mr. Warburton **_

_**DJ Got Us Falling In Love **__**© Usher  
**_


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